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museums.yaml
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museums.yaml
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# This content is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
# https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
-
id: 1
name: Musée Mécanique
url: http://museemecaniquesf.com/
address: Pier 45, Fishermans Wharf, San Francisco, CA 94133
description: |-
Unique collection of antique coin-operated arcade games, orchestrions and other artefacts, some of them over 100
years old. This type of machine breaks constantly so they are usually held in private collections, but Musée
Mécanique has its own maintenance workshop allowing it to continue running them interactively for the public.
wikipedia_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_M%C3%A9canique
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/IMG_1606.JPG
photo_alt: Mechanical circus at Musée Mécanique
latitude: 37.8094
longitude: -122.4162
-
id: 2
name: Bigfoot Discovery Museum
url: https://www.bigfootdiscoveryproject.com/
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/IMG_4921.jpeg
photo_alt: Proprietor Michael behind his desk, covered in Bigfoot paraphernalia
address: 5497 Highway 9, Felton, CA 95018
wikipedia_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigfoot_Discovery_Museum
description: |-
Founder Michael Rugg has been collecting evidence of Bigfoot for decades, and will happily take you through all
of it and answer any of your Sasquatch questions.
latitude: 37.0414
longitude: -122.0725
press:
- url: https://roadtrippers.com/magazine/bigfoot-discovery-museum-santa-cruz/
title: "Searching for Bigfoot: If the elusive creature exists, he’s probably hiding deep in the Santa Cruz Mountains"
publication: Explore Magazine
author: Shoshi Parks
date: 2019-06-30
photos:
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/IMG_4921.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/bigfoot-discovery-1.heic
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/bigfoot-discovery-2.heic
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/bigfoot-discovery-3.heic
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/bigfoot-discovery-4.heic
-
id: 3
name: Burlingame Museum of PEZ Memorabilia
url: http://www.burlingamepezmuseum.com/
address: 214 California Drive, Burlingame, CA 94010
wikipedia_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burlingame_Museum_of_Pez_Memorabilia
description: |-
One of every Pez dispenser ever sold - over 1000 unique dispensers. Also home to a classic toy museum and a banned
toy museum, including the Atomic Energy Laboratory and Lawn Darts.
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/IMG_4248.jpeg
photo_alt: Six antique Pez dispensers on display
latitude: 37.5793
longitude: -122.3442
permanently_closed: true
press:
- url: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Bay-Area-museum-has-every-Pez-dispenser-model-12181246.php
title: "A paradise of Pez: It’s all in the dispenser at unique museum"
publication: San Francisco Chronicle
author: Steve Rubenstein
date: 2017-09-07
-
id: 4
name: Hyde Street Pier
url: https://www.nps.gov/safr/learn/historyculture/historic-vessels.htm
address: 2905 Hyde Street, San Francisco, CA 94109
wikipedia_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyde_Street_Pier
description: |-
This historic ferry pier now hosts a collection of ships, including an 1886 square rigged sailing ship
(the Balclutha), a 1907 steam tugboat (the Hercules) and Eureka, a side-wheel paddle steamboat built in 1890
which is now the largest existing wooden ship in the world. The museum is run by the National Park Service
so if you have their annual pass you can get in for free.
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/IMG_0353.jpeg
photo_alt: Looking down the pier at the Eureka
latitude: 37.8077
longitude: -122.4209
-
id: 5
name: Museum of Russian Culture
url: http://mrcsf.org/
address: 2450 Sutter Street, San Francisco, California 94115
description: |-
The Museum of Russian Culture "was established by those who left Russia as a
result of the Civil War of 1917–1922". It is located on the third floor of the
Russian Center Building and is open 10:30am to 2:30pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
latitude: 37.7852
longitude: -122.4409
-
id: 7
name: Santa Cruz Surfing Museum
url: http://www.santacruzsurfingmuseum.org/
address: 701 West Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
wikipedia_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Cruz_Surfing_Museum
description: A museum documenting the history of surfing, housed inside the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse.
latitude: 36.9514
longitude: -122.0266
-
id: 8
name: Jehning Lock Museum
url: http://www.jehninglockmuseum.com/
description: Locks, keys, locksmithing tools, safes and more.
address: 175 Castro Street, Mountain View, CA 94041
latitude: 37.394
longitude: -122.0786
hours:
Wednesday: [1200, 1700]
Thursday: [1800, 2000]
Sunday: [1000, 1500]
-
id: 9
name: The Bay Model
url: https://www.spn.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Bay-Model-Visitor-Center/
description: |-
A working hydraulic model of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento to San Joaquin
River Delta System, approximately the size of two football fields. Built by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1950s to study the impact of proposed changes
to the delta.
address: 2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA 94965
wikipedia_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Army_Corps_of_Engineers_Bay_Model
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/IMG_1799.jpeg
photo_alt: A portion of the Bay Model
latitude: 37.8635
longitude: -122.4948
hours:
Tuesday: [900, 1600]
Wednesday: [900, 1600]
Thursday: [900, 1600]
Friday: [900, 1600]
Saturday: [900, 1600]
-
id: 10
name: Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
url: https://egyptianmuseum.org/
address: 1660 Park Avenue, San Jose, CA 95126
wikipedia_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosicrucian_Egyptian_Museum
description: |-
The Rosicrucians are "a community of mystics who study and practice the metaphysical
laws governing the universe." Their Egyptian museum hosts the largest collection of
ancient Egyptian antiquities in the Western United States, mostly collected from
Egypt in the 1920s.
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/IMG_0859.jpeg
photo_alt: The architecture of the museum has an ancient Egyptian flavor
latitude: 37.3334
longitude: -121.9231
hours:
Wednesday: [900, 1700]
Thursday: [900, 1700]
Friday: [900, 1700]
Saturday: [1000, 1800]
Sunday: [1000, 1800]
-
id: 11
name: Nike Missile Site SF-88
url: https://www.nps.gov/goga/nike-missile-site.htm
address: Field Road, Sausalito, CA 94965
wikipedia_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike_Missile_Site_SF-88
description: |-
The only fully restored Cold War era Nike missile site in the country,
hosting surface-to-air nuclear missiles for shooting down incoming Russian
bomber planes! The first Saturday of the month is Veterans Open House,
providing an opportunity to hear from the veteran missile techs who used
to run these sites.
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/IMG_1254.jpeg
photo_alt: A nuclear missile inside the bunker
latitude: 37.8271
longitude: -122.5275
hours:
Saturday: [1230, 1530]
-
id: 12
name: The American Bookbinders Museum
url: https://bookbindersmuseum.org/
address: 355 Clementina Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
wikipedia_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Bookbinders_Museum
description: |-
Showcasing the artistry, history, and craft of bookbinding. The New York Times
described it as "a small, obsessive collection of machinery and ephemera."
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/bookbinders.heic
photo_alt: The outside of the bookbinders museum.
latitude: 37.7813
longitude: -122.4030
hours:
Tuesday: [1000, 1600]
Wednesday: [1000, 1600]
Thursday: [1000, 1600]
Friday: [1000, 1600]
Saturday: [1000, 1600]
-
id: 13
name: California State Railroad Museum
url: https://www.californiarailroad.museum/
address: 111 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
wikipedia_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Railroad_Museum
description: |-
So many trains, some dating all the way back to 1862! Everyone loves trains. They also have historic carriages,
including restored Pullman dining cars you can explore. One of the carriages is mounted on a motion simulator
providing a delightfully mild rocking sensation.
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/IMG_4205.jpeg
photo_alt: A lovely old timey train
latitude: 38.5849
longitude: -121.5046
hours:
Monday: [1000, 1700]
Tuesday: [1000, 1700]
Wednesday: [1000, 1700]
Thursday: [1000, 1700]
Friday: [1000, 1700]
Saturday: [1000, 1700]
Sunday: [1000, 1700]
-
id: 14
name: The Gregangelo Museum
url: https://www.gregangelomuseum.com/
address: 225 San Leandro Way, San Francisco, CA 94127
wikipedia_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregangelo_Museum
description: |-
Incredibly varied installation art located in a 1920s Mediterranean-style house. Visits by appointment only.
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/IMG_3817.jpeg
photo_alt: A weird alien bed
latitude: 37.7326
longitude: -122.4686
-
id: 15
name: The Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum
url: http://thesaltandpeppershakermuseum.com/
address: 461 Brookside Village Way, Gatlinburg, TN 37738
wikipedia_url: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Salt_and_Pepper_Shakers
description: |-
More than 20,000 sets of salt and pepper shakers from around the world. Everything you can imagine has been
captured in the form of a shaker. Highlights include NASA salt and pepper shakers and branded salt and
pepper shakers from different airline first class flights.
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/salt-pepper.jpeg
photo_alt: Shelves full of salt and pepper shakers
latitude: 35.7162331
longitude: -83.5025032
press:
- url: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/may/31/tennessee-salt-and-pepper-shaker-museum
title: "In Tennessee, the world's premier fantasyland of salt and pepper shakers"
publication: The Guardian
author: Susan Harlan
date: 2015-05-31
photos:
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/salt-pepper-shaker-1.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/salt-pepper-shaker-2.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/salt-pepper-shaker-3.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/salt-pepper-shaker-4.jpeg
-
id: 16
name: International Art Museum of America
url: https://www.iamasf.org/
address: 1023 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
wikipedia_url: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Art_Museum_of_America
description: |-
Founded in 2011 by H. H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, who claims to be a reincarnation of Buddha and is
responsible for most of the art in the museum. Each piece is accompanied by a plaque which explains
its artistic merit in effervescent terms.
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/iama.jpeg
photo_alt: A plaque with an effervescent caption.
latitude: 37.7816
longitude: -122.4108
-
id: 17
name: Novelty Automation
url: http://www.novelty-automation.com/
address: 1a Princeton Street, London, WC1R 4AX
wikipedia_url: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novelty_Automation
description: |-
London's best kept secret: a gallery of hand made satirical coin operated arcade machines built by
Tim Hunkin. Enjoy a micro break holiday, launder money through the credit crisis, operate a
personal nuclear reactor and spy on celebrities with a drone. Delightful.
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/novelty-automation.jpeg
photo_alt: The microbreak holiday simulator.
latitude: 51.5197
longitude: -0.1169
photos:
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/novelty-automation-1.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/novelty-automation-2.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/novelty-automation-3.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/novelty-automation-4.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/novelty-automation-5.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/novelty-automation-6.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/novelty-automation-7.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/novelty-automation-8.jpeg
-
id: 18
name: Pirates Museum
url: https://pirates-museum.business.site
address: 103, Rue de Liège, Tsaralalàna, PRIORI travels, 4th floor, Boîte Post BP-273, Antananarivo, 101, Madagascar
description: |-
Tiny museum dedicated to Madagascar's pirate history. The exhibits are in French but an English
translated handout is available, which makes copious use of the word "booty".
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/madagascar-pirates.jpeg
photo_alt: Pirate paraphernalia.
latitude: -18.907
longitude: 47.5183
hours:
Monday: [800, 1700]
Tuesday: [800, 1700]
Wednesday: [800, 1700]
Thursday: [800, 1700]
Friday: [800, 1700]
-
id: 19
name: David Rumsey Map Center
url: https://library.stanford.edu/rumsey
address: Bing Wing, Green Library, 459 Lasuen Mall, Stanford, CA 94305
description: |-
Opened April 19th 2016 to provide access to historic cartographic information in both paper and digital forms. An incredible collection of beautiful old maps.
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/david-rumsey-map-center.heic
photo_alt: A room full of maps.
latitude: 37.4269
longitude: -122.1679
-
id: 20
name: Galerie de Paléontologie et d’Anatomie comparée
url: https://www.jardindesplantesdeparis.fr/fr/programme/galeries-jardins-zoo-bibliotheques/galerie-paleontologie-danatomie-comparee-2770
address: 2 Rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France
description: |-
So you want to see a vast number of animal bones? This collection was established in 1898 but has exhibits that date back even earlier, including the skeleton of Louis XV's rhino which died at the hand of a revolutionary in 1793.
wikipedia_url: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallery_of_Paleontology_and_Comparative_Anatomy
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/galerie-de-anatomie.heic
photo_alt: It really does have a lot of skeletons.
latitude: 48.8433
longitude: 2.3634
-
id: 21
name: DEVIL-ish Little Things
url: https://www.facebook.com/DEVILishLittleThingsMuseum/
address: 3409 L Street, Vancouver, Washington
description: |-
Marion Held has been collecting devils for twenty years - novelty objects mainly from Europe, depicting the Devil, Krampus, Mephisto and more.
Marion assured us that there was nothing satanic about her collection: "These are European devils: they sit on your shoulder and they tell you to drink!"
Her collection is now available to see in her home - a converted church - by appointment only.
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/devilish.heic
photo_alt: A trio of devilish mugs.
latitude: 45.6461
longitude: -122.6596
press:
- url: https://www.columbian.com/news/2018/dec/16/details-in-the-devils-in-vancouver-womans-museum-home/
title: "Detail’s in the devils in Vancouver woman’s museum-home"
publication: The Columbian
author: Andy Matarrese
date: 2018-12-16
- url: https://www.king5.com/article/entertainment/television/programs/evening/the-devil-gets-his-due-at-this-vancouver-museum/281-593970583
title: The devil gets his due at this Vancouver museum
publication: King 5 Evening
author: Saint Bryan
date: 2018-09-13
photos:
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/devilish-little-things1.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/devilish-little-things2.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/devilish-little-things3.jpeg
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-
id: 22
name: Mardi Gras World
url: https://www.mardigrasworld.com/
address: 1380 Port of New Orleans Place, New Orleans, LA 70130
description: |-
A 300,000 square foot working warehouse where you can see sculptors and artists making floats for parades in New Orleans and other cities, and
explore a vast collection of floats from previous years.
wikipedia_url: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras_World
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/mardi-gras-world.heic
photo_alt: An artist working on a piece for a float
latitude: 29.9346
longitude: -90.0618
-
id: 23
name: Environmental Volunteers EcoCenter
url: https://www.evols.org/visit-the-ecocenter/
address: 2560 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303
description: |-
This boat-shaped building was built in 1941 as a base for the Sea Scouts. It now houses the headquarters for the Environmental Volunteers and incorporates an event space and a tiny collection of taxidermy birds.
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/ecocenter.heic
photo_alt: Some taxidermy birds.
latitude: 37.4564
longitude: -122.1084
-
id: 24
name: Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum
url: https://www.evergreenmuseum.org/
address: 500 Northeast Captain Michael King Smith Way, McMinnville, OR 97128
description: |-
They have the Spruce Goose! Howard Hughes' incredible wooden flying boat, which held the record for largest wingspan of any aircraft from its first (and only) flight in November 1947 until finally being beaten in April 2019. You can tour the plane and if you pay to have your photo taken they will let you sit in the cockpit. The museum also hosts an SR-71A Blackbird, Titan II and Titan IV ICBMs, a Mercury Space Capsule and dozens of other historic aircraft.
wikipedia_url: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evergreen_Aviation_%26_Space_Museum
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/spruce-goose.heic
photo_alt: The Spruce Goose.
latitude: 45.2041
longitude: -123.1453
photos:
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/evergreen-aviation-1.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/evergreen-aviation-2.jpeg
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- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/evergreen-aviation-19.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/evergreen-aviation-20.jpeg
-
id: 25
name: Autoservicio Condorito
url: https://www.airbnb.ie/things-to-do/places/2924076
address: Avenue Arístides Villanueva 644, M5500 Mendoza, Argentina
description: |-
This convenience store hosts a stunning taxidermy collection, nested among and occasionally overwhelming the other items that it sells.
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/autoservicio.heic
photo_alt: Much taxidermy.
latitude: -32.8916
longitude: -68.8595
-
id: 26
name: Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre
url: https://www.fairground-heritage.org.uk/
address: The Fairground Heritage Centre, Milford, Lifton, Devon, PL16 0AT, UK
description: |-
Home of the National Fairground Collection, Dingles has over 45,000 indoor square feet of vintage fairground rides... and you can go on them! Highlights include the last complete surviving and operational Moonrocket from 1939, Brett's Ghost Train from 1947 and Edwards’ Dodgems, a 96 foot track with cars dating back to 1932.
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/dodgems.heic
photo_alt: Dodgems at Dingles
latitude: 50.6558
longitude: -4.251
photos:
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/dingles-1.jpeg
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- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/dingles-8.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/dingles-9.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/dodgems.heic
-
id: 27
name: Ilfracombe Museum
url: http://www.ilfracombemuseum.co.uk/
address: Wilder Road, Ilfracombe, EX34 8AF, United Kingdom
description: |-
When entomologist Mervyn Grove Palmer retired to Ilfracombe after a career collecting exhibits for museums from South America, he was disappointed to learn that the town lacked a museum.
In 1932 he opened a new museum in the old laundry building of the Ilfracombe Hotel, displaying exhibits from his own collection as well as items donated by the local townspeople. The museum collection has been growing ever since.
The museum's own website describes it as "a cross between an Edwardian collector’s study and your Granny’s attic". The result is a delightfully eccentric assortment of items. Don't miss the cupboard full of bats, or the intriguing collection of one hundred year old wedding cake samples.
The drawers in the museum deserve special attention. I particularly enjoyed how the moths were categorised into "British Moths" and "Foreign Moths".
The museum also hosts a two-headed gosling, a two-headed kitten and bones from a human foot, "purchased from a young lad for 6d in 1932".
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/wedding-cake.jpeg
photo_alt: Old wedding cakes
latitude: 51.2101
longitude: -4.1236
photos:
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/ilfracombe-1.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/ilfracombe-2.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/ilfracombe-3.jpeg
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- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/ilfracombe-17.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/ilfracombe-18.jpeg
-
id: 28
name: Barometer World
url: http://www.barometerworld.co.uk/
address: Quicksilver Barn, Merton, Okehampton, Devon EX20 3DS
permanently_closed: true
description: |-
Everything you could want to learn about barometers. They even have one that is powered by a leach! Opening times are restricted due to pending retirement so make an appointment for your visit soon.
wikipedia_url: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barometer_World
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/barometer.jpg
photo_alt: A barometer
latitude: 50.8911
longitude: -4.0924
-
id: 29
name: La Galcante
url: https://www.lagalcante.com/
address: 52 rue de l'Arbre Sec, 75001 Paris, France
description: |-
Founded in 1975 with the aim of becoming a museum, La Galcante today is a unique store specializing in ephemeral publications: newspapers, magazines, maps, photographs, postcards and more. Some items date back to the 18th century, and the archives here include French and international dailies, society magazines and obscure periodicals. Film directors such as Martin Scorsese have rented material from La Galcante to use as props.
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/la-galcante.jpg
photo_alt: Stacks of old magazines
latitude: 48.8609
longitude: 2.3428
press:
- url: https://www.christies.com/features/Interview-with-La-Galcante-Documentaliste-Pierre-Aribaud-8035-1.aspx
title: "Interview: La Galcante’s Documentaliste, Pierre Aribaud - The great paper trail"
publication: Christie’s Magazine
author: Christian House
date: 2017-01-18
- url: http://www.nomadwomen.com/2016/10/04/la-galcante-paris-shop/
title: Losing Myself at La Galcante, My Favorite Paris Shop
publication: Nomad Women
author: Donna Meyer
date: 2016-10-04
-
id: 30
name: Musée des Arts et Métiers
url: https://www.arts-et-metiers.net/
address: 60 Rue Réaumur, 75003 Paris, France
description: |-
Established in 1794 during the French revolution to preserve scientific instruments and inventions - including the laboratory of "father of modern chemistry" Antoine Lavoisier who met his fate at the guillotine. The collection today represents three centuries of French craft and invention, including Foucault’s pendulum, the original model of the Statue Liberty, mechanical looms and a delightful gallery of automata including one that belonged to Marie Antoinette.
wikipedia_url: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musée_des_Arts_et_Métiers
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/laboratoire-lavoisier.jpg
photo_alt: Laboratoire de Lavoisier.
latitude: 48.866
longitude: 2.3554
press:
- url: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/best-little-museum-you-never-visited-180956025/
title: The Best Little Museum You Never Visited in Paris
publication: Smithsonian Magazine
author: Celestine Bohlen
date: 2015-07-27
-
id: 31
name: International Women's Air & Space Museum
url: http://iwasm.org/
address: Burke Lakefront Airport, Room 165, 1501 North Marginal Road, Cleveland, Ohio
description: |-
Artifacts and displays relating to the history of women in aviation and space. The museum tells the story of pioneering aviators such as Harriet Quimby, the first American woman to earn her pilot's license and the first woman to fly across the English channel (in 1912). Also home to the first soft drink dispenser used in space!
wikipedia_url: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Women%27s_Air_%26_Space_Museum
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/women-in-space.jpg
photo_alt: Photos of female astronauts.
latitude: 41.5114
longitude: -81.69
-
id: 32
name: West Kern Oil Museum
url: https://www.westkern-oilmuseum.org/
address: 1168 Wood Street, Taft, CA 93268
description: |-
Volunteer run museum covering the history of the oil industry in the local area. They have the world's only surviving wooden oil derrick, a photo exhibit covering the 1910 Lakeview Gusher oil spill and a wonderfully eclectic collection of both indoor and outdoor exhibits.
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/west-kern-oil.heic
photo_alt: An old truck and some historic oil equipment.
latitude: 35.1325
longitude: -119.4476
photos:
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/west-kern-oil-1.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/west-kern-oil-2.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/west-kern-oil-3.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/west-kern-oil-4.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/west-kern-oil-5.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/west-kern-oil-6.jpeg
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- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/west-kern-oil-12.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/west-kern-oil-13.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/west-kern-oil-14.jpeg
press:
- url: https://www.bakersfield.com/entertainment/west-kern-oil-museum-a-shining-example-of-how-to/article_8298d243-ab94-5014-99eb-4f34903d10a7.html
title: West Kern Oil Museum a shining example of how to preserve our history
publication: The Bakersfield Californian
author: Louis Medina
date: 2009-02-27
-
id: 33
name: California State Capitol Dioramas
url: http://www.capitolmuseum.ca.gov/
address: State Capitol, Room B-27, 1315 10th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
description: |-
The California State Capitol proudly displays a diorama for every one of California's 58 counties. The dioramas are of varying quality. The process by which they are created and updated over the years is entirely uncoordinated, and appears to be driven by occasional outcries of shame from local county media.
wikipedia_url: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Capitol_Museum
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/shasta-county-diorama.jpg
photo_alt: Shasta County diorama
latitude: 38.5769
longitude: -121.4931
press:
- url: https://www.montereycountyweekly.com/blogs/arts_culture_blog/every-california-county-is-represented-by-dioramas-in-the-basement/article_0bdace76-9081-11e4-8d80-b7a992357c73.html
title: "Every California county is represented by dioramas in the basement of the State Capitol building. But how well?"
publication: Monterey County Weekly
author: Walter Ryce
date: 2014-12-30
- url: https://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/feeling-outclassed-napa-to-upgrade-its-capitol-diorama/article_c7aceb7f-c0d1-58c7-a76b-da55ef95cc7b.html
title: "Feeling outclassed, Napa to upgrade its Capitol diorama"
publication: Napa Valley Register
author: Barry Eberling
date: 2015-12-07
- url: https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/joetopia/article39446553.html
title: "The answer to my prayers: a new county diorama in Sacramento"
publication: San Luis Obispo Tribune
author: Joe Tarica
date: 2013-06-08
photos:
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/ca-capitol-dioramas-6.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/ca-capitol-dioramas-1.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/ca-capitol-dioramas-2.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/ca-capitol-dioramas-3.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/ca-capitol-dioramas-4.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/ca-capitol-dioramas-5.jpeg
-
id: 34
name: Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen
url: https://www.zeppelin-museum.de
address: Seestraße 22, 88045 Friedrichshafen, Germany
description: |-
Friedrichshafen, the birthplace of the Zeppelin in 1900, now hosts the definitive Zeppelin museum. A full scale partial model of the Hindenberg lets you explore a recreation of the bar, cabins and smokers' lounge. They also have an original engine nacelle from the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin and a 3.6 ton Maybach Zeppelin car from 1938, based on the Maybach airship engines and capable of a maximum speed of 170 km/h.
wikipedia_url: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeppelin_Museum_Friedrichshafen
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/friedrichshafen.jpg
photo_alt: Engine nacelle of the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin
latitude: 47.6509
longitude: 9.4832
-
id: 35
name: Dai Loy Museum, Locke
url: http://www.locketown.com/museum.htm
address: 13952 Main Street, Walnut Grove, CA 95690
description: |-
The tiny town of Locke in the Sacramento delta is a National Historic Landmark, so designated because it represents a unique example of a historic Chinese American rural community. The town's website states that "Locke is no tourist trap, nor is it a ghost town. Its unusual, out-of-the-way charm is genuine." The Dai Loy Museum was a former gambling house, closed down in the 1950s but now restored and open to visitors.
wikipedia_url: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locke,_California
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/locke.jpg
photo_alt: Inside the gambling house.
latitude: 38.2504
longitude: -121.5095
-
id: 36
name: Wallace Collection
url: http://www.wallacecollection.org/
address: Hertford House, Manchester Square, London, W1U 3BN, UK
description: |-
Bequeathed to the nation by the widow of the illegitimate son of the 4th Marquess of Hertford in 1897 on the condition that no object should ever leave the collection, even for loan exhibitions. The collection includes a vast array of French 18th century decorative arts purchased during the revolutionary sales following the French revolution. This includes the Laughing Cavalier and a lot of very shiny decorative weapons and armour.
wikipedia_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Collection
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/wallace.jpg
photo_alt: Shiny knights on horses.
latitude: 51.5173
longitude: -0.153
photos:
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/wallace-collection-1.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/wallace-collection-2.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/wallace-collection-3.jpeg
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- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/wallace-collection-6.jpeg
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- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/wallace-collection-9.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/wallace-collection-10.jpeg
-
id: 37
name: Cookin'
url: https://m.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Judy-Kaminsky-of-Cookin-shop-an-acquired-taste-2332940.php
address: 339 Divisadero Street, San Francisco, CA 94117
description: |-
Judy Kaminsky has been selling high-end vintage cookware (mostly French) to the residents and chefs of San Francisco since 1981. Go with intent to buy something - cake stands and antique cocktail glasses are a good target. Don't bring your coffee!
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/cookin.jpg
photo_alt: Inside Cookin'
latitude: 37.7728
longitude: -122.4375
press:
- url: https://hoodline.com/2013/01/whats-cookin-at-cookin
title: "What's Cookin' at Cookin'"
publication: Hoodline
author: Judith Basler
date: 2013-01-19
- url: https://m.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Judy-Kaminsky-of-Cookin-shop-an-acquired-taste-2332940.php
title: "Judy Kaminsky of Cookin' shop an acquired taste"
publication: SFGate
author: Nellie Bowles
date: 2011-08-30
-
id: 38
name: Ramen Museum
url: http://www.raumen.co.jp/english/
address: 2 Chome-14-21 Shinyokohama, Kohoku Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 222-0033, Japan
description: |-
Travel back in time to a street-scape replica of Tokyo in 1958, the year instant noodles were invented, and sample Ramen from nine different restaurants representing regional varieties of the dish. Easily accessible via bullet train from central Tokyo.
wikipedia_url: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin-Yokohama_Rāmen_Museum
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/ramen-museum.jpg
photo_alt: The main square
latitude: 35.5098
longitude: 139.6146
-
id: 39
name: San Francisco Cable Car Museum
url: http://www.cablecarmuseum.org/
address: 1201 Mason Street, San Francisco, CA 94108
description: |-
Housed in a historic cable car barn and powerhouse, this free museum tells the story of San Francisco's unique under-road cable pulled street cars. In addition to vintage cars and other exhibits illustrating the history of the system visitors can descend below the street to see the cables running, or watch the engines that power the cars from a viewing platform.
wikipedia_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Cable_Car_Museum
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/cable-car-museum.jpg
photo_alt: Technicians replacing a cable.
latitude: 37.7946
longitude: -122.4116
-
id: 40
name: Audium
url: http://www.audium.org/
address: 1616 Bush Street, San Francisco, CA 94109
description: |-
Describing itself as "Perhaps one of San Francisco's least known eclectic treasures", Audium is a unique sound art event presented weekly since 1967 in pitch darkness in a custom theater with 176 speakers. Founder and composer Stan Shaff still presents his compositions in person every week and will enthusiastically answer your questions after the show.
wikipedia_url: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audium_(theater)
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/audium.jpg
photo_alt: Outside Audium
latitude: 37.7883
longitude: -122.424
-
id: 41
name: House of Broel Dollhouse Museum
url: http://www.houseofbroel.com/dollhouse-museum.html
address: 2220 St Charles Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
description: |-
The House of Broel is a 1850 Victorian mansion in New Orleans which now serves as a wedding venue and museum exhibiting Bonnie Broel's impressive collection of dollhouses. Tours by appointment only.
wikipedia_url: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnie_Broel
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/new-orleans-dolls.jpg
photo_alt: Dolls houses in the hall.
latitude: 29.9335
longitude: -90.0809
-
id: 42
name: Arizona Cactus Garden
url: https://lbre.stanford.edu/bgm/what-we-do/grounds-services/horticulture-and-landscape/points-interest/arizona-garden
address: Stanford, CA 94305
description: |-
First planted between 1880 and 1883 for Jane and Leland Stanford, then restored from 1997 onwards. The 30,000 square foot garden now features over 500 cacti and succulents, 10-15% of which are historical plants still in their original locations.
wikipedia_url: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_Cactus_Garden
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/arizona-cactus-garden.jpg
photo_alt: The cactus garden.
latitude: 37.4359
longitude: -122.1711
press:
- url: https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2016/06/03/the-secret-garden
title: The secret garden
publication: Palo Alto Weekly
author: Avi Salem
date: 2016-06-03
- url: https://www.stanforddaily.com/2018/08/22/volunteers-maintain-historic-cactus-garden/
title: Volunteers maintain historic cactus garden
publication: The Stanford Daily
author: Gianella Ordonez
date: 2018-08-23
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id: 43
name: Neptune Society Columbarium
url: https://www.neptune-society.com/cremation-articles/why-the-san-francisco-columbarium-is-worth-a-visit/
address: One Loraine Court, San Francisco, CA 94118
description: |-
San Francisco has few cemeteries: most of them were relocated to the nearby city of Colma in the 1920s. This Columbarium (a repository for human ashes), built in 1898, is now the only non-denominational place in the city that still accepts new burials.
Interments include FORTRAN creator John Backus, politician Harvey Milk and Harry August Jansen, aka Dante the Magician - the last representative of the Golden Age of Magic.
Many of the urns are accompanied by small dioramas representing details from the life of the person interred there.
wikipedia_url: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Columbarium_%26_Funeral_Home
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/sf-columbarium.jpg
photo_alt: Inside the Columbarium.
latitude: 37.7806
longitude: -122.4571
press:
- url: https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/544256/san-francisco-columbarium/
title: "R.I.P. in the Walls of San Francisco (video)"
publication: The Atlantic
author: Tyler Trumbo
date: 2017-10-30
- url: https://www.sfchronicle.com/thetake/article/Life-within-the-San-Francisco-Columbarium-6647073.php
title: "Death and life within the S.F. Columbarium"
publication: San Francisco Chronicle
author: Erin Brethauer
date: 2015-11-22
- url: https://hoodline.com/2014/06/the-neptune-society-columbarium
title: Inside The Neptune Society Columbarium
publication: Hoodline
author: Stephen Jackson
date: 2014-06-20
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id: 44
name: Recoleta Cemetery
url: https://turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/es/atractivo/cementerio-de-la-recoleta
address: Junín 1760, C1113 CABA, Argentina
description: |-
Widely considered one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the world, the Recoleta cemetery hosts 4691 above ground vaults, 94 of which have been declared national historic monuments. The cemetery is laid out like a small city with a complex network of streets dividing tombs representing nearly two hundred years of architectural styles. The residents tell the story of the nation, including presidents, writers, generals, Nobel laureates and Argentinian first lady Eva Perón.
wikipedia_url: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Recoleta_Cemetery
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/Recoleta-Cemetery.jpg
photo_alt: Inside the cemetery.
latitude: -34.5876
longitude: -58.3924
press:
- url: https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/10/travel/cemetery-for-the-elite-of-argentina.html
title: "Cemetery For the Elite Of Argentina"
publication: NY Times
author: Barbara Cansino
date: 1999-01-10
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id: 45
name: NASA Glenn Visitor Center
url: http://greatscience.com/explore/exhibits/nasa-glenn-visitor-center
address: Great Lakes Science Center, 601 Erieside Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44114
description: |-
Relocated from NASA Glenn Research Center to a new home inside the Great Lakes Science Center in 2010, this is one of just eleven NASA visitor centers in the USA. See inside the Apollo Command Module used in the 1973 Skylab 3 mission and celebrate Ohio's status as the fourth-largest producer of astronauts in the United States (25 astronauts so far).
wikipedia_url: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes_Science_Center
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/nasa-glenn-visitor-center.jpg
photo_alt: 1973 Skylab 3 Apollo Command Module.
latitude: 41.5074
longitude: -81.6966
-
id: 46
name: Conservatory of Flowers
url: http://conservatoryofflowers.org/
address: 100 John F Kennedy Drive, San Francisco, CA 94118
description: |-
A building of unknown origins. The conservatory was bought as a kit by James Lick for his estate in San Jose, then purchased as a gift for the city of San Francisco after his death in 1876. it was assembled as the first formal structure in Golden Gate Park in 1879. The origin of the kit itself is unknown, though it is thought to have come from somewhere in Europe.
Today it hosts over 1,700 plant species, including some rare tropical plants that are over 100 years old and the world’s largest public collection of high-altitude orchids. Their Corpse Flowers attract a substantial crowd when they bloom for 2-3 days every 7-10 years.
wikipedia_url: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatory_of_Flowers
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/conservatory-of-flowers.jpg
photo_alt: Inside the conservatory.
latitude: 37.772
longitude: -122.4602
press:
- url: https://www.sfchronicle.com/chronicle_vault/amp/Saving-SF-s-Conservatory-of-Flowers-Golden-13530898.php
title: "Saving SF’s Conservatory of Flowers, Golden Gate Park’s grandest building"
publication: San Francisco Chronicle
author: Bill Van Niekerken
date: 2019-01-16
photos:
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/conservatory-of-flowers.jpg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/conservatory-flowers-1.jpg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/conservatory-flowers-2.jpg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/conservatory-flowers-3.jpg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/conservatory-flowers-4.jpg
-
id: 47
name: The Comic Rock Star’s Toilet Seat Museum
url: http://isotopecomics.com/index.php/tag/comic-rockstars-toiletseat-museum
address: 326 Fell Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
description: |-
Voted "Best Comic Store" in Best of the Bay for 17 years running (2002 - 2018), Isotope Comic Book Lounge plays host to a unique museum of toilet seats. The collection was founded by accident in 2002 when Brian Wood (DMZ and X-Men) vandalized their bathroom and owner James Sime kept the toilet seat. Over 100 comic artists have now contributed illustrated seats, and a subset of the collection can be seen lining the walls of the lounge.
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/isotope.jpg
photo_alt: Painted toilet seats in Isotope.
latitude: 37.776
longitude: -122.4233
press:
- url: https://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/travel/sam-mcmanis/article23713138.html
title: "Discoveries: The (toilet) seat of power is found in San Francisco"
publication: The Sacramento Bee
author: Sam McManis
date: 2015-06-12
- url: https://hoodline.com/2013/10/meet-james-sime-of-isotope-comics
title: Meet James Sime of Isotope Comics
publication: Hoodline
author: Anna Mantzaris
date: 2013-10-07
- url: https://m.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/James-Sime-Isotope-comic-lounge-celebrate-niche-3167878.php
title: James Sime, Isotope comic lounge celebrate niche
publication: SFGate
author: Peter Hartlaub
date: 2010-11-02
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id: 48
name: Fabergé Museum, Baden-Baden
url: http://www.faberge-museum.de/index.php?lang=en
address: Sophienstraße 30, 76530, Baden-Baden, Deutschland
description: |-
Alexander Ivanov opened the Fabergé Museum in Baden-Baden in 2009 to host his collection of over 1,500 items made by Russian jewelry firm House of Fabergé. The firm was founded in 1842 and is most famous for making jewel-encrusted Fabergé eggs for the Russian Tsars.
The museum holds at least one of those Imperial Easter Eggs - the Karelian Birch egg, which was ordered by the Tsar for Easter 1917 but was delivered after he had been deposed during the Russian revolution.
The museum also holds one of two known versions of the Constellation Egg, which it claims is the finished original. This claim is disputed.
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/baden-baden-faberge.jpg
photo_alt: The Karelian Birch egg.
wikipedia_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faberg%C3%A9_Museum
latitude: 48.7621
longitude: 8.2433
press:
- url: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-faberge-eggs-century-later/28280309.html
title: A Century Later, Faberge Still Dazzles
publication: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
author: Natalya Golitsina, Robert Coalson
date: 2017-02-05
- url: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/12/12/british-tax-agents-raid-museum-in-search-of-putins-faberge-egg-report-says-a42232
title: British Tax Agents Raid Museum in Search of Putin's Faberge Egg, Report Says
publication: The Moscow Times
author: Anna Dolgov
date: 2014-12-12
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id: 49
name: jAdis
url: http://www.jadisprops.com/
address: 2701 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90405
description: |-
jAdis is a shop, prop rental place and curiosity cabinet “dedicated to imagination and wonder”. Parke Meeke and Susan Lieberman opened Jadis on Main Street in the mid-1970s and began collecting and constructing objects along a theme that can best be described as a mad scientist laboratory. Items from jAdis have featured in movies such as The Artist, The Prestige, Batman and Robin, and Van Helsing along with many different TV shows.
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/jadis.jpg
photo_alt: A steampunk airship in the window.
latitude: 34.001
longitude: -118.4823
press:
- url: https://laist.com/2018/11/01/how_a_santa_monica_prop_shop_thats_rarely_open_survives_in_hollywood.php
title: The Amazing Santa Monica Prop Shop That's Rarely Open
publication: LAist
author: Natalie Chudnovsky
date: 2018-11-01
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id: 50
name: Lundy
url: https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/lundyisland/
address: Lundy Island, Bideford EX39 2LY, United Kingdom
description: |-
Can an entire island be classified as a niche museum? In Lundy's case I'd say yes. Accessible only by a twelve mile, two hour boat ride from north Devon, Lundy is a spectacular island in the Bristol Channel with a fascinating history.
The island has three light houses, a charming little village, a church, numerous ruins and a castle that was built in the 13th century by Henry III after he retook the island from the apparently traitorous William de Marisco.
Thanks to the Landmark Trust you can stay in many of the buildings (including the castle). Lundy is Britain's first Marine Conservation Zone, playing host to wildlife that includes puffins and Atlantic grey seals. It also offers excellent letterboxing.
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy.jpg
photo_alt: Lundy has incredible landscapes.
wikipedia_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lundy
latitude: 51.177
longitude: -4.671
map_zoom: 9
press:
- url: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/sep/26/very-special-place-lundy-future-secure-another-50-years
title: "'A very special place': Lundy's future secure for another 50 years"
publication: The Guardian
author: Steven Morris
date: 2019-09-26
- url: https://simonwillison.net/2018/Sep/18/letterboxing-lundy/
title: Letterboxing on Lundy
publication: Simon Willison's Weblog
author: Simon Willison
date: 2018-09-18
photos:
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy-1.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy-2.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy-3.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy-4.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy-5.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy-6.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy-7.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy-8.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy-9.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy-10.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy-11.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy-12.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy-13.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy-14.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy-15.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy-16.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy-17.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy-18.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy-19.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy-20.jpeg
- url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/lundy-21.jpeg
-
id: 51
name: Neon Works
url: http://www.neonwks.com/
address: 967 Grace Avenue, Oakland, CA 94608
description: |-
Neon Works is a neon sign fabrication and restoration business based in a 17,000-square-foot studio in North Oakland.
Founder Jim Rizzo also collects historic neon signs, and displays them in the workshop. Any time he hears about a Neon sign being taken down anywhere in the Bay Area Jim will swoop in and see what can be salvaged.
His collection has signs from throughout the previous century, including the 1500 pound 42 foot long Kilpatrick's Bakery sign rescued from 16th and Folsom street in San Francisco in the late 1990s.
Neon Works carried out the $70,000 restoration of the Castro Theatre’s 85 foot tall sign for the production of “Milk” in 2008.
The workshop is not open to the public, but occasionally hosts tours.
photo_url: https://niche-museums.imgix.net/neon-emeryville.jpg
photo_alt: An impressive collection of neon signs.
latitude: 37.8424
longitude: -122.2778
press:
- url: https://sf.eater.com/2019/9/3/20847393/tradr-sam-sf-bar-neon-sign-repair
title: "Trad’r Sam, Country’s Oldest Tiki Bar, Will Get a Facelift"